Kate Kasts Off: Still tumbling

See what I got for my birthday? I must have been very good, don't you think?? either that or they felt very sorry for me on my stash diet!! Little did they know.........

A few weeks ago I described my small tumble off the stash-diet wagon, and foretold of the consequences of this little slip. I knew I would not be able to hold out as the fall got into full swing and new classes, new stock, new workshops, and inspiring shows all got into full swing.

Saturday was slated to be an interesting day. I was at Algonquin College to take an Into the Dye Pot with the amazing rug artist Heidi Pivnick, http://www.heidipivnickrugartist.com/ (no - I’m not taking up another new craft, but Heidi is renowned for her dyeing and color knowledge and I am interested in the dying process as it apply to fabric and yarn, so who better to learn from?). Unfortunately, the facilities provided by the college for this class were completely inadequate and after blowing the electrical circuits in 2 rooms we called it a day, and will re-schedule the class. Still it was wonderful morning, chatting with other creative people, learning about their interests and crafts of choice and how they intend to apply their new dye know-how to their own personal interests.

Sunday made up for Saturday in spades! An unexpected errand for DD1 had me in the car and headed for downtown by 10:00am, and after my errand was complete, I decided since I was halfway there, I would head out to Wool ‘n Things http://www.woolnthings.com/ to see what was new and hunt for some more appropriate yarn for my MIL’s Christmas hat and scarf, as I have not enjoyed knitting the original yarn I had chosen (I think it will be more suitable for another gift project I can’t speak of yet, so it will not go to waste!).

I was in for a real treat when I got there! I hadn’t checked wool ‘n things website recently and was delighted to discover that the amazing British Knitwear designer Jane Ellison http://www.janeellison.co.uk/index.asp was giving a talk and workshop about her newest yarn project Mirasol http://www.mirsolperu.com/themirasolyarncollection.htm , and her complementing pattern book.

It was utterly impossible for me to resist the beautiful colors, the inspiring garments, the happy chatter of fellow knitters. I was surrounded by friendly, happy people doing interesting, happy things, and the warm happy feelings are as contagious as chicken pox in a kindergarten class! I promptly bought a ticket, called home to say I’d be gone for the afternoon, found a seat and few of my knitting acquaintances to boot! Heavenly!

Jane is lovely. She is warm, friendly, un-pretentious, and so approachable, and genuinely passionate about our ability to positively influence our collective environment, and more particularly the struggling economies of the countries in which her yarns are developed. She talked to us about emerging Fairtrade practices in the yarn manufacturing world, and the opportunity we, as knitters, all have to positively impact developing nations with the choices we make in our knitting purchases. She spoke about the plans for the Mirasol Project, and the aspirations and support of the globally sponsoring corporate participants. I was struck by her knowledge of the real problems faced by indigenous persons in the modern world who need to survive and yet somehow keep their traditions and culture intact, and how well she sees that modern knitters are highly knowledgeable about the world around them, and want a way to participate in the protection and support of these fragile, fledgling economies.

I must say there is nothing like touching, feeling, and trying on the designers actual knitted garment samples to tell you how your own knitted garment is likely to turn out. I learned a great deal about ease, and how the various yarns and techniques can potentially influence the ease and final fit of a garment.

After all but rolling in the gorgeous Mirasol garments like a wet dog on white carpet, we cast on for Jane’s easy gloves with the lovely Hacho 100% Merino yarn (totally influenced by the changing seasons I picked colorway 305, a variegated dark and light olive with burnt yellows and ochre) and supplied as part of the workshop from Wool ‘n Things. Hacho is gorgeous heavy sock weight wool with a finish that has a soft almost cotton like feel. So easy to work with, I have already finished one piece of the four “handprints” required to make up a pair of these amazing gloves! Amazing since I had just said to a friend, not a week before, that I would never ever knit a pair of gloves – “Never say never”, says Jane! Words to live by! Her patterns are beginner friendly and there is certainly more than one pattern of interest for every level of knitter in the Mirasol Collection Book 1.

And, in case you thought I had forgotten my original purpose for going there in the first place, fear not, I splurged, big time!! Hey - it is for my MIL, and I need brownie points, and besides I think she’s an awesome MIL (really!) and worth every penny! So, with a resounding thump I fell completely off the wagon and four skeins of Noro Iro in colorway 9 came home too!! I had heart palpitations all the way home, as this was an extraordinary monetary purchase for me in terms of yarn. But I got kudos from the G-man and DD2 on the colorway and no flack on the princely sum, and fondling it off and on during the evening has me lusting to cast on RIGHT NOW!